The Reluctant Queen: Book Two of The Queens of Renthia

by Sarah Beth Durst

Overview

In The Queen of Blood, Daleina used her strength and skill to survive the malevolent nature spirits of Renthia and claim the crown. But now she is hiding a terrible secret: she is dying. If she leaves the world before a new heir is ready, the spirits that inhabit her realm will once again run wild, destroying her cities and slaughtering her people.

Naelin has the power necessary to become an heir, but she couldn’t be further removed from the Queen. Her world is her two children, her husband, and her remote village tucked deep in the forest. But when Ven, the Queen’s champion, passes through her village, Naelin’s ambitious husband tells him of his wife’s ability to control spirits—magic that Naelin fervently denies. She knows embracing her power will bring death and separation from those she loves.

But Ven must find the best possible candidate to protect the people of Aratay. As the Queen’s power begins to wane and the spirits become emboldened, the only way Naelin can keep her son and daughter safe is to risk everything.

“Excellent.”  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062474117
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	01/30/2018
Series:	Queens of Renthia , #2
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	4.10(w) x 6.60(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Sarah Beth Durst is the award-winning author of over twenty fantasy books for adults, teens, and kids, including The Queens of Renthia series, Drink Slay Love, and The Stone Girl’s Story. She won an ALA Alex Award and a Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and has been a finalist for SFWA's Andre Norton Award three times. She is a graduate of Princeton University, where she spent four years studying English, writing about dragons, and wondering what the campus gargoyles would say if they could talk. Sarah lives in Stony Brook, New York, with her husband, her children, and her ill-mannered cat. For more information, visit her at sarahbethdurst.com.

Editorial Reviews

Ms. Durst has penned a series that can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. The characters are diverse, both in age and life experience, making this a perfect pick for pretty much anyone who enjoys a well-crafted fantasy with strong heroines and a very unique world.

All About Romance

The Queen of Blood is full of rich tension from the opening scene to the nail-biting finale.

Jeff Wheeler

The Reluctant Queen was a fantastic next installment for this trilogy.

Girls in Capes

Durst is a very gifted storyteller with a knack for comforting prose, both qualities which make The Reluctant Queen an extremely engaging novel and one that is difficult to put down.

SFFWorld

It is a pleasure to visit Renthia again. Durst paints a gorgeous, leaf-strewn horror house setting that makes it easy to immerse yourself in her world, and stay there.

B&N Sci-fi & Fantasy Blog

The Queen of Blood made it onto my list of books that I felt were deserving of more attention, and I maintain that more than ever, especially with how good The Reluctant Queen turned out....The Queens of Renthia is shaping up to be an excellent series.

Bibliosanctum

Thrilling—heartrending—enchanting—absolutely un-put-down-able!

Tamora Pierce

What a great story! A truly wonderful fantasy novel which doubles as an allegory for our own earthly struggle between Man and Nature. Filled with fresh ideas and excitement, told with verve and heart. This book deserves a wide readership, and I think it will find one.

Terry Brooks

The Reluctant Queen makes for a worthy follow-up to The Queen of Blood.

Culturess

It is a pleasure to visit Renthia again. Durst paints a gorgeous, leaf-strewn horror house setting that makes it easy to immerse yourself in her world, and stay there.

B&N Sci-fi &Fantasy Blog

05/15/2017
Everything in the world has a spirit, and those spirits want to kill you. Queen Daleina learned this from a young age, and her battle with these beings, and the old queen, gained her the crown. Now Daleina knows another truth—she is dying. If there is no one to succeed her, the spirits will set forth uncontrolled across the land and destroy everyone. Naelin has the power to tame the spirits, but her world revolves around her family and her tiny, remote village. When the queen's champion Ven arrives, looking for a new candidate to train, Naelin's avaricious husband reveals her abilities, which Naelin desperately denies to protect her children. But the monarch's power is waning, and dark rumors from the north reveal challenges from more than wild spirits. Soon Naelin realizes that defending the realm may be the only way to save her family. VERDICT This sequel to The Queen of Blood introduces new protagonists while bringing back familiar characters. Durst's strongly woven story supported by solid worldbuilding will please epic fantasy readers.—KC

Library Journal

2017-05-02
The second in a fantasy series set in a heavily forested continent whose vitality depends on bloodthirsty nature spirits controlled by magically gifted women.Six months after the events of The Queen of Blood (2016), Queen Daleina of Aratay's troubles are far from over. Daleina still feels incredible survivor's guilt about the coronation day massacre…and now she herself isn't expected to survive very long. Daleina's newly discovered fatal illness could claim her in mere months; worse, the blackouts it induces cause her to lose control of the spirits, who are then set free to slaughter. Daleina's former lover, the healer Hamon, searches desperately for a cure, even turning to his estranged mother, a brilliant but sociopathic herbalist. To ensure Aratay's security, Daleina must have an heir; but the strongest potential candidates were killed in the massacre, and most of the new candidates aren't surviving their training. Meanwhile, a secret traitor threatens the palace, and Daleina's former schoolmate, the insanely ambitious Queen Merecot of Semo, is preparing to invade. Daleina rests all her hope on one extremely powerful candidate: Naelin, a canny woodswoman and mother of two who can summon and control even the strongest spirits; the only problem is that she has absolutely no desire to be queen. Durst's Renthia continues to fascinate with its very incongruity, juxtaposing idyllic villages and cities built among the trees and the personal journey of the female protagonists with the relentless brutality of the spirits and the ruthless machinations of humans. The result is both incredibly grim and charmingly heartwarming. However, the two books in the series are similar enough thematically and, in some spots, predictable enough that Durst will have to take care to avoid repetition in subsequent installments. Still worth following, at least for now.

Kirkus Reviews

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